White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Says Hardest Part Of Her Job Were Threats Against Her Family

Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki took some time to talk about her experiences on the job and what was the most difficult part. For Psaki, the hardest part was menacing messages sent to her personally that threatened her family.

Speaking at a Christian Science Monitor-sponsored event on Thursday, Psaki described how she would receive "nasty letters" and texts to her personal address that went so far as to include the names of her children.

She noted that as the public face of the Biden administration it was inevitable to receive a certain amount of vitriol, but should not excuse the types of threats that were being made against her.

“It crosses lines, and that’s when it becomes a little scary. And that has been the most personally difficult aspect of this job," Psaki explained at the event.

Psaki is the mother of two young children. The threats against them that were “a real concern” for her more than anything else. At some points, Psaki said that she passed some of the threats she received over to the Secret Service for investigation.

“There have been cases where I’ve had to share information with [the Secret Service], and I certainly have shared information with them,” Psaki said.

Psaki, who is leaving the administration for a job at MSNBC in the coming weeks, said that no one ever appeared at her home as threatened. However, she accused the Republican Party branch in Arlington, Virginia, of circulating her personal address to their supporters.

In a statement, the Arlington Republican Party denied the allegation but slammed Psaki for what they saw as a double standard because of her own comments about recent protests outside the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices in recent weeks. The party also said it encouraged anyone engaging in protests against public officials to do so peacefully.

"The Arlington GOP has not publicly disseminated any Biden administration official's home address unlike the hordes of progressive activists who have disseminated the addresses of Justices of the Supreme Court," the party branch said in a statement posted on Twitter.

In the wake of a leaked Supreme Court opinion that would see the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion overturned, protestors have appeared outside the homes of Supreme Court justices in Maryland and Virginia.

Psaki encouraged anyone engaged in such protests to do so peacefully and reiterated that the Biden administration discourages any acts of violence against the justices.